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“We tend to spend most of our time with blue sharks, although I have in the past worked with porbeagles and threshers. They tend to pass through quite fast but blue sharks are more inquisitive.

“You can work with them and stroke them. They are a bit like dogs really.”

A snorkeler strokes one of the blue sharks (Image: Cornish Fishing)

“They quite enjoy a Jaffa Cake actually. I was sat on the side of the boat once, having some late lunch, and decided against eating one and started to feed them. They eat the whole pack.

“A lot of people are gobsmacked that sharks are even off Cornwall but they come here every year.

A large blue shark noses its way towards a snorkeler (Image: Cornish Fishing/)

“I talk to the people and tell them about the sharks, how they behave, where they live and what they do.

One of the smaller blue sharks comes in for a closer look (Image: Cornish Fishing)

“There really is no danger. We’ve never had any incident in all the years we’ve been doing it.

“Actually, I am very nervous around horses and think I am in danger of being beaten or kicked, whereas as I’ve spent years getting to know sharks."

Diver and shark expert Nigel Hodge (Image: Cornish Fishing)

In the 1960s and 1970s sharks were hunted and their bodies strung up at docks for people to marvel at the creatures.

Nigel added that times have certainly changed and anglers such as himself now catch, tag and release sharks without hurting them.

He said shark numbers have increased dramatically in recent years.

New shark Facebook page for Cornwall

Interested in sharks? Cornwall Live reporter Graeme Wilkinson has a Facebook group called Cornwall Shark Spotter.

It’s not just about sharks either, so if dolphins, seals, whales, marine conservation, plastics and environmental issues are your thing, this is the group for you. Please feel free to follow this link to join and keep up to date on all the latest news.

“It was about 15 years ago that someone asked me to go shark fishing,” he said. “If we caught one shark that was good, and if we got two, that would be amazing.

“Now, I could take you out there today and catch 50 sharks. The amount of shark numbers in the south west has grown considerably.

“I think we’ll see sightings like the one in St Ives happening more and more frequently.”